Bungee Jumping in Cheonpung (River Land)

After being utterly disgusted by the notion of bungee jumping, somehow I found myself jumping.  How does one go from being disgusted by the thought to eventually jumping?  I really don't know what changed, and now all I can say is that I'm happy that I did it.  It proved my manliness lol even though on more than one occasion I can be heard screaming on my video footage.  What an experience it was!!  The rush!  The adrenaline!  The body aches days after!  The praise from friends and colleagues.  For those of you who have known me for any amount of time, this feat would seem so unlikely for me, and I wholeheartedly agree.  Now for the details...

Celebratory picture!!

Looking up at the platform

Sunday, the 14th of November, my life was hanging in the balance.  The whole idea of doing this happened rather precipitously.  I was thinking less of the danger of the whole thing and decided to focus more on the fear that was consuming me.  We arrived at River Land on the crisp and beautiful morning.  There was a subtle breeze flowing through and it was enough to get all 156 lbs of my lean figure shivering.  As I was gazing up at the platform, I began to realize what was about to happen.  I was with two women and I was sure I couldn't back out because I mean, how embarrassing would that be?!  I'd prefer to save face so that wasn't about to happen.  Anyway, Lindsey (my jumping partner) and I proceeded to sign the paperwork and get our ankle gear on.  I'm glad she was there to translate because there would have been no way of knowing what I was signing.  After that, we both waddled over the elevator and began our journey upward.  The elevator was annoyingly loud and I began to feel my uneasiness growing with each passing meter.  Scrreeeeecch!!  We made it to the platform and out we walked.  The view was breathtaking and the fresh air was definitely much needed.  A man proceeded to speak Korean to us as he was getting the ropes in order.  He asked us who would go first and Lindsey immediately pointed in my direction.  I was okay with that because I wanted to jump as soon as possible before I changed my mind.  So I did my little penguin walk over to the attendant.  He connected the carabiners and rope with my ankle gear, and then I was ready for take-off.  I gingerly stepped to the edge of the platform...

What allows a human to convince themselves that jumping from such a high distance is okay?!!  My legs began to do a little dance of their own.  I was just hoping my legs wouldn't go limp and resulting in my falling off the platform as opposed to jumping kk...Initially, I was frozen in fear and was not yet ready to take the plunge.  He asked if I was ready and I quickly responded with an immediate NO!!  Politely of course...I then signaled to him that I was ready.  He began counting in Korean...set...dul...ha na...bungee!  Off I went.  No hesitation on my part.  Immediately on my departure I felt sheer terror!!  I let out a blood curdling scream.  I thought to myself..."self, why did I just jump? how did that happen?"  My abrupt descent quickly followed.  The water was creeping up on my face very fast.  And all of a sudden...yank!!  I was pulled back up and I was finally able to relax.  "The rope caught me. Thank God!"  After that I was overcome with a sense of accomplishment.  50 meters (164 ft)?!!  That wasn't so bad...I DID IT!

Fly Like An Eagle

I did it...happy to be in the boat

As I crawled into bed that night, it seemed like every muscle in my body was angry.  I was extremely sore.  I popped some ibuprofen, hazily reflected on my day of excitement, and drifted off into a deep slumber...the end.


The video will come soon...

A Realization of Sorts

I went to Itaewon this afternoon to finally get a much needed haircut.  While I was over there, I also ate some delicious Taco Bell for dinner.  Anyway, I was doing my traveling during a peak rush hour time, 4-7 PM.  Missstaaaaake!  The subways were so crowded.  It was kind of ridiculous actually.  I would say that I was bouncing around in between people as I stood there, but that just wouldn't be an accurate representation of my experience because there was no space to bounce around!  I was surrounded by old women, business men, and many college age women (made for a more pleasant experience).  Anyway, I was highly uncomfortable the entire time because I am a person who likes space, more specifically, my space, and people were all up in my business kk...

That was my random experience for the day.

P.S.  It was nice to have the extra body heat though because it was cold =)

Back to the Drawing Board

It's back to the drawing board in the morning.  Bright and early at 7 AM!  I'm sure this term will go just as fast and my first one, and Christmas is around the corner as well.  It stinks that I will miss my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, but I'm sure I'll survive :p

I finally feel healthy, well rested, and ready for new challenges.  Continue to pray for me as I begin this new term.  I will try to be more faithful with writing for my blog even if they are just brief updates.

Over my term break I was able to play some competitive basketball, visit the Seoul Grand Park Zoo and the Coex Mall & Aquarium, eat Mexican food in Itaewon, and get convinced by my housemates to go bungee jumping soon.  Yup!  I'm going to go bungee jumping soon!  It's getting pretty cold now so maybe I'll wait until it's warmer, but this much is sure, I WILL BE JUMPING.  I decided that potentially wetting my pants is not a good enough reason not to do it kk...so, I'm ready for the adrenaline rush.  I will let you know how it turns out.

Oh, before I go, I must tell you about my care package.  Well if I'm honest, it was really a suitcase that my mother and some family friends put together for me.  I was very thrilled to get it.  It had a variety of nuts, candy, oatmeal, granola bars, vegemeat, vitamins, clothes, toothpastes, and even toothbrushes.  It was definitely Christmas come early for me.  I'm going to be set for quite some time.  My housemates were quite jealous, but I assured them that I'd be kind and share so maybe that eased their pain haha...Anyway, I'm very thankful that I have people that care about me.

My last note...I miss you guys dearly.  Some of you I talk to regularly, others...not so much :(  So continue to stay in contact and send me the emails, facebook comments/messages, snail mail, or what have you.  It's always good to hear from you.